Mathematically funny

I am a quizzer. Which means, often I must research about things I do not like. Coming second on my ‘hate-list’ is Art. But before we begin, sit back and relax. Let me take you back some 15 years. My mom, just like your mom, thought I had a lot of talent in me. … [Continue reading…]

Ever since I set foot in my twelfth grade in school, Dad made one thing clear: “You are not staying in Kolkata. Go to college anywhere but not in this state.” I do not know why he said this. Maybe being hostel-educated, he thought I should learn to be independent. Maybe knowing how easily … [Continue reading…]

It was the 18th of August, 1913. An ordinary evening in Monte Carlo, Monaco. People were at the casinos, betting, earning, and losing. Slowly, a crowd started gathering near the roulette table. Something weird was happening! The roulette ball kept falling on Black, turn after turn. The crowd went into a frenzy, betting on Red. … [Continue reading…]

A lot of people ask me why I do not drink. One of my common answers is “People never do nice things when they are drunk.” On the 5th of March 2014, Dad was at Landmark Hotel, drinking out with his colleagues. It was getting late, and Dad really needed a smoking break. There was … [Continue reading…]

I came back home on the 5th of December- the first day of my internship. Exhausted, I sank into the sofa and sighed, “How on earth am I going to learn 3 new languages in a month?” Within a span of 3 days, I was working at breakneck speed, working with all 3 of them. … [Continue reading…]

Just the other day, I was showing my blog to Dr Lakshmanan. He is a senior faculty at our college, and had introduced me to Theory of Computation (one of my favourite subjects). Anyway, he skipped the post on Good Math Bad Math (which I take pride in), and started reading the blogpost on Fruit … [Continue reading…]

Eleventh grade is usually the time when all of us (except that darned front-bench maggu) realize that we aren’t really that great with math. If mathematics is a science we are born with, why do we suck at it so much? Did you know about Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox? That which is in locomotion must … [Continue reading…]

I distinctly remember once, as a kid, I was very upset with Maa when she came back from the market place with a packet of fruit bread. Fruit bread! “Maa, how do you expect me to eat this? It’s like a pseudo-pseudo-cake!” Today, I am writing this blogpost munching on the same brand of … [Continue reading…]

Last week, my 7-year-old cousin Rommel, forced me to play Ludo with him. One reason Rommel hates playing with me is that I don’t allow him to cheat, which Ammi (our grandmother) graciously allows all the time. Now, while playing with Rommel, I saw him making lots of rookie mistakes. It was then that I … [Continue reading…]

Growing up, I thought smoking was cool, and why wouldn’t I? Everybody cool was smoking cigarettes. From the Toscaneli cigar that dangled off Clint Eastwood’s lips as he looked at the horizon, to the Charminar Feluda smoked as he furrowed his brows in concentration, the cigarette was associated with everything glamorous. Heck, even my grandfather, … [Continue reading…]